March 13, 2025
About N35 billion has so far been disbursed to 261,000 students across the country by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.
This disclosure was made on Thursday at a sensitisation programme for Edo students in Edo State University, Iyamoh, Edo state, by the Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr.
At the programme which was organised in conjunction with the Edo State Ministry of Education, Sawyerr, announced that, “So far in Nigeria, we have disbursed over N22 billion in institutional fees, that is, money paid to institutions.
“We have disbursed about N11 billion in upkeep that goes up every month. “So far, we have disbursed about N35billion in total. We have received about 520,000 registrations and about 419,000 applications.
“We have processed and paid 261,000 students, both upkeep and institutional fees,” Sawyerr said. The NELFUND boss said that the organisation was fully funded to cater for Nigerian students, as long as they were eligible students of any institution in the country.
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“So far, we are very well funded, the political will demonstrated by President Bola Tinubu to allow us access funds outside the statutory allocation is well commended.
“The law provide for us to raise funds from non governmental quarters and I think, it’s fair to say many Nigerians are helping students with their school fees.
“And some of these NGOs are now injecting their funds into NELFUND for us to be able to deploy accordingly. “Many people want to give to this country but they don’t have a vehicle through which to do that.
“NELFUND has become a channel for giving and I believe if we put the right structures in place, as long as it seems to be honest and we are honest and transparent about how to deploy the funds.”
In his remarks, Edo Commissioner for Education, Dr. Emmanuel Paddy, expressed concerns why the number of Edo state students applying for the loan was quite low. “The number of students who have benefited is relatively low,” he stated.
The commissioner urged students of the state to utilize the advantage of the programme to enable them benefit from NELFUND.
According to the Acting Vice Chancellor of Edo State University, Iyamoh, Prof. Dawood Egbefo, about 51 students of the university have benefited from the federal government students’ loan.
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“It will interest you to know that since subscribing to the NELFUND programme, the sum of N61.4 million have been disbursed with 51 students as beneficiaries.
“Today’s sensitisation programme serves as an opportunity for us to explore how NELFUND can continue to serve as a beacon of hope for students in Edo.
“I encourage all participants to take full advantage of this platform so that you can maximise the benefits of the funds,” Egbefo said. The acting VC thanked President Tinubu for the support, growth and advancement of education in Nigeria.
“I would like to express our deep gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his leadership and unwavering support for the growth of education in Nigeria. “His vision for a more prosperous and well educated nation inspires us all,” Egbefo said.
